[dpa5923]

I post this because these threads always have good fight discussions in them.

[opinionator]

Let the kid decide.

[trashcanbred]

Isn't eight years old a little late to decide this? I do not blame the dad in this one at all.

[Wheee The People]

Someone is a real dick in all this....

[bikepacker67]

Hey, what the hell.. let's cut off clitoral hoods as well!

[andysandmikesmom]

I have never posted my opinion on the circumcision threads....and wont today...just will say, I always enjoy the 'fights' that go on, and will follow this thread with interest, because there are always good discussions to break up the name calling and such that inevitably occur...thanks for posting this, wonder what will happen...

[frankjr]

"Researchers have noted links between MC [male circumcision] and HIV prevalence rates since the 1980s. The body of research now includes:

* A systematic meta-analysis that analyzed the findings of 38 studies, mostly in Africa, and found that circumcised men appear to be less than half as likely to be infected by HIV as uncircumcised men. A sub-analysis of 16 of these studies found an estimated 70 percent reduction in HIV infection among higher-risk men.

* A two-year cohort study of male partners of HIV-positive women in Rakai, Uganda, in which 40 of 137 uncircumcised men became infected, compared with 0 of 50 circumcised men.

* Mapping of the HIV epidemic that has demonstrated a strong correlation between regions with higher levels of HIV infection and those with lower MC rates.

* A Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) multisite study that found MC to be a principal factor in the large and pervasive disparities in HIV prevalence across different African regions. Similar patterns have been observed in South and Southeast Asia.

Other Health Benefits

Circumcision is already known to greatly reduce a man's risk of penile cancer, and it also apparently reduces risks of some sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), including chancroid, herpes, and syphilis. It eliminates problems such as phimosis (narrow foreskin opening) and balanitis (infected foreskin), and also appears to reduce the risk of cervical cancer among female partners of circumcised men.

Research has identified plausible biological explanations for a connection between HIV infection and lack of circumcision. The tissue of the internal foreskin absorbs HIV up to nine times more efficiently than female cervical tissue, mainly because it contains Langerhans and other HIV "target cells" in much greater quantities than the cervix or other genital tissue (including other parts of the penis). In addition, the internal foreskin has a mucosal surface, as opposed to the more hardened skinlike surface of the external foreskin. This mucosal surface is particularly susceptible to tears and abrasions, and, consequently, infection by STDs and HIV. "

http://www.usaid.gov/our_work/global_health/aids/TechAreas/research/mcfactsheet.html

[lawgirl]

I vote for au natural. ;)

[TASMANIANRED]

It is not in the least comparable to female circumcision.

Clitoris is not an analogous organ to the foreskin.

Unless there are mitigating circumstances....it is unnecessary surgery.

[Arpege92]

My hubby and I both agreed to have our son snipped before he left the hospital. That was almost fourteen years ago.

[impatient]

the father scared the child by telling him frightening stories about what might happen if he were circumcised.

When in doubt, wait for someone to prove himself a liar.

[LongElegantLegs]

I love this show...

[sandbar]

First of all, what loon would go through the process to have foreskin reattached/stretched? I mean what purpose would it serve except some weird penis envy thing.

Personally, as a woman, I do not like an uncircumsized one and I don't care what the current trend, I know NOT ONE woman who disagrees with me. They'll of course except it in the man they love, but prefer cut.

Second, it was my understanding that muslims do NOT circumsize as was the difference between Abraham's children being jews. Am I incorrect?

[capt. norm]

What's the big hurry?

It's not like it was an emergency operation.

[Chiapet]

The mother wants to have her 8 year old son circumsised? I object to doing it to babies, but at least they don't remember it. An 8 year old boy though, if it happens, you know he'll never forget that one. Geez, does his mom really hate him (or her ex-husband) that much? What a bitch.

[IncPen]

An article in the Chicago Tribune today suggested that the circumcision was needed to prevent 'recurring infections'

Also, they didn't name the parents in order to protect the child's privacy

That has to be a first

[iPod Shuffle]

In the 1900s, surgical circumcision, in which the foreskin of the penis is removed usually before a newborn leaves the hospital, was the norm in the United States. But the percentage of US babies being circumcised has plunged from an estimated 90 percent in 1970 to some 60 percent now, data show.

The drop is most likely due to the influx of illegal aliens, as well as all the leftist granola types who think we should be more like Europe.

[GB]

We have two boys and we both had them circumcised and we did it unashamedly for aesthetic reasons, although we also heard the supposed benefits of the procedure. In our neck of the woods, I would wager that it's nearly, if not actually, a 100 percent circumcision rate for boy babies. It's just something that's done automatically, for better or worse. My wife and I talked and, knowing how mean kids can be to each other and how especially mean they can be to people who are "different" in any way, we agreed that we should have this done. Neither of us was in the room when the procedure was done, both times a nurse took the baby down to where it was performed and brought the baby back in a matter of minutes, and neither of our sons appeared to be in any great distress following the procedure. That being said, (a.) I would not in any shape, form or fashion try to tell anybody else that they ought to do this or criticize anyone who doesn't do this; (b.) if I was in a situation with a child who was 8, I don't know that I'd want it done because that's an age where the least little thing (even drawing blood from a finger) can be very traumatic; and (c.) I'd wager that, as in most problematic and contentious divorce cases, there's a lot of underlying heat that transcends circumcision and probably transcends the kid even, and this is just one more weapon for the parties to hit each other with.

[southernnorthcarolina]

Speaking of clipping things off -- going off on a tangent here, but there's a relationship here somewhere -- I have a Weimaraner, whose tail, in accordance with breed traditions, was docked when he was two days old (the anatomical similarities between this procedure and the thread subject are inescapable, but that's not where I was going).

A very liberal lady of my acquaintance saw my lopped-off Weim when he was a pup of three months or so, and she said (quoting from memory here): "Oh, cutting off his tail is so cruel; and by the way, when are you going to have him neutered?"

Some cuts are more cruel than others.

[Harmless Teddy Bear]

She says two doctors recommended the procedure for health reasons.

Will the doctors be called? I would think that this would be a very important part of the testimony. In general I am not in favor of anything being cut off a 8 year old but if it is medically necessary then the situation changes.

[armymarinemom]

What medical testimony has the Father provided. They don't tell you why the two Physic ans recommended the surgery but if he has Phimosis it may be necessary. This will safe him from having to undergo a meatonomy down the road.